Although it was temporary to join the western border army, he actually just slept and went out with Liver early the next morning.
However, the only thing that made Lancer strange was that there didn't seem to be a 'Teigu user' in the team?
It was just that considering his identity, he didn't ask, but when they were about to set off, an extremely awkward situation occurred.
"You... don't know how to ride a horse?"
Although Liver expression didn't change at all, Lancer was almost certain that the other party was feeling very helpless at this moment.
"Never mind. You can ride a horse with me. Anyway, it's impossible for us to ride horses once we truly enter the 'desert area'."
Speaking of which, it was strange. Normally, you should ride camels to enter the desert, but he didn't know if it was because the Imperial military horses were a mix of Dangerous Beasts, but they generally rode horses.
For this conquest of the western foreign races, a total of five thousand soldiers were dispatched, while Lancer 'special operations unit' only had a little over ten people, so their mission was not easy.
They needed to first confirm whether the next target had moved based on the map. After all, they only brought three days' worth of food and water this time. It would be fine if they got the wrong target once, but if they kept making mistakes, this operation would probably have to be canceled early.
The group set off in the morning, and when Liver and Lancer arrived at the outermost outpost of the empire in the west, it was already noon. Lancer, who was sweating profusely, sat inside the outpost and looked at the dazzling sun. For the first time, he regretted not making a 'Sand Dragon set'.
Although he could directly buy a bottle of 'ice drink' from the 'supply system' to stay cool for at least 4 hours, he had to give up this tempting idea to make himself look more 'ordinary'.
"Captain Liver, where are we going next?"
Although Lancer had asked the other party before setting off, Liver had brushed him off with 'it's a military secret, we'll talk about it after we set off'. However, what made Lancer strange was why no one else asked? Was it because it wasn't their first time doing this, so they already knew?
The answer was actually very simple. Unlike Lancer, who was a halfway monk, as professional soldiers, they were very clear about the reality that they only needed to carry out missions and not know why, so they never asked too many questions.
"Well, our mission this time is to confirm whether the small oases on the outskirts of the desert have changed. After we confirm that, we'll try to enter the desert and destroy the large oases. That's pretty much it."
After saying that, Liver looked at the bewildered Lancer, who didn't understand at all, and sighed helplessly. Although according to his superior, this 'newcomer' had good strength, he lacked common sense because he had never served in the army. But he didn't expect him to lack so much.
"The war between us and the foreign races has been going on since the birth of the Empire. Although our ancestors drove those foreign races into barren lands like the desert beneath our feet, those guys seem to have a particularly tenacious vitality. They managed to multiply again when we weren't paying attention. In these hundreds of years, our ancestors have tried countless times to completely solve these pests, but unfortunately... these guys have already unknowingly taken root in the desert, and it's impossible to completely eliminate them. So, later, a 'general' invented a method..."
Saying this, Lancer wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt that the temperature inside the outpost suddenly dropped?
"If we send a large army for an extermination-style massacre, then those foreign races will unite. Even if we can kill many of them in the end, we still won't be able to completely clear them out because we can't go deep into the desert. On the contrary, maybe in ten, or even twenty years, the other party will launch a counterattack, and countless Imperial citizens will be slaughtered and plundered. Since that's the case, how about we don't use 'exterminating the foreign races' as our strategic goal? That general proposed this idea, and he also acted on it. The main target is the large settlements deep in the desert, while the small settlements near the fortress are 'swept' every few years, and they generally don't get rid of all of them. They will leave one or two settlements, so that whenever a small settlement is swept, there will always be some foreign races living deep in the desert who will move to the outside..."
Liver spoke with almost no emotion, but it was even more bizarre. After all, the other party's tone seemed to not regard the 'foreign races' as human beings at all.
However, Lancer still had a question...
"Don't tell me that no one among those foreign races figured it out?"
"Hehe~ How could that be? But there are always people who think they are 'lucky'. Maybe they won't be cleared out? And for them, instead of fighting to the death to attack the fortress or the surrounding villages, it's better to take a gamble and stay there. After all, what if they survive?"
Liver sarcastic voice made Lancer not know what to say for a moment.
After all, he wasn't an Imperial person, and he couldn't understand the ordinary Imperial people's disregard for the lives of foreign races and the hatred the people in the army had for foreign races. But he never argued with others. After all, as he said before, he didn't understand anything, so he had no right to argue, just like how he couldn't stop Mado Kureo from hunting Ghouls.
The only thing he could do was not do it himself. After all, he was just an 'ordinary person'.
To be honest, the work that followed was very boring. The group of people wore camouflage suits and ran continuously through the desert, stopping at a distance from the 'oasis' and then confirming whether there were any settlements near the 'oasis'...
During this time, Lancer job was to be in charge of the innermost circle of vigilance. He didn't know if it was because they thought his weapon was too big and not suitable for covert operations, or if they thought that as a newcomer, he needed to observe more than work.
Until one night.
"We have checked all the locations marked on the map. Next, we will go deeper into the desert..."
Liver always serious voice sounded a bit hoarse at this time, but no one else responded. Even Lancer didn't speak. After all, it was meaningless for him to speak. This was also because for the past half a month, he had been following Liver request to 'try not to speak'.
It could be said that even when performing missions, everyone almost communicated with sign language. Lancer even felt that if he opened his mouth after not speaking for so long, he might not be able to control his own voice.
However, Liver words did make him a little excited.
'This damn boring life is finally over!'
Every day, all he saw was sand, and he was almost going crazy.
But compared to the somewhat excited Lancer, the expressions of the others became serious, because they knew that the most dangerous time had arrived. Normally, if there were any casualties, it would be at this time. But at the same time, they were also filled with a surge of passion, because if they could really destroy the undocumented foreign race stronghold deep in the desert, then their future of promotion and salary increase was almost predictable.
This was a gamble, and while it was dangerous, it was also full of opportunities.